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Category: Podcast

This episode gets poetic, then it gets funny, and then it’s all over. Thanks for listening everybody. I know that you were entertained, and I hope that you have gained insight into life in the trades. I suppose that is why I took the time to write this book / podcast … but I’ll never be sure. Peace Out.

Now that I had a great crew, I had to keep them working, or they would leave me. But with this particular client, keeping us together at all costs was too expensive. I ignored the warning voices in my head, and now it was either get gone, or get sued.

A big ground floor addition. My first time running the whole show. My excellent crew were decades younger than me, and on this fast paced build, it became clear to me that my age had become a liability.

Stan teamed me up to frame a house with Ken, an illiterate genius carpenter with serious anger management issues. The work was high up and dangerous, and we were not prepared for the heat wave and the heat stroke that drove us off the roof.

My skills and my tool collection grew until I was known in the neighbourhood as ‘handy’. When the neighbourhood crazy lady offered to pay me to build her a fence, I jumped at the chance. Of course I should have known better … she didn’t pay me. Down the rabbit hole and into Small Claims Court!

My first attempt at home reno was when I decided to install a bathtub all by myself. I had no tools and less experience, just an inexplicable drive to do the work myself. The installation was a disaster, but I learned a lot about plumbing – and about myself.